Dairy Chitchat 4, an udder new thread.

Was out in NZ for 3 years, have never milked a cow in Ireland so can't compare too much.

I've no ideas what regulations are coming in over there but I'd guess they'll still be nowhere near as restrictive as to what we have to deal with.

Spent most of my time on a standard grass only farm in Canterbury although we were outside the irrigation zones so much more restricted by the weather for each season.

Was a testing farm for L.I.C, the biggest genetics company out there. All Kiwi Cross to Kiwi Cross by the time I was there and the cows were more like large dogs.

Outwitntered on Kale and Fodder Beet in situ. Place was impassable near, would often park the farm bike in the paddock next door and do all on foot. Bravely coming in with momentum and hope to feed out silage with a bale feeder.

I think she's been turning more to a greener more make believe angle for a while now 🤔 ever since she gave up on the partnership arrangement she seems to have a chip on her shoulder

I was more commenting on her general carry on on countrywide and her airy fairiness and lack of knowledge of real farming. In other words, where you are depending on your farm as an income

They do deferentiate our product. Grass fed butter is a softer more yellow and world wide recognised better tasting product, and commands a better price any world shelf it's on.We don't make butter outside of grazing months.

PGI status gives credibility to a system of a product. It exists across many food items from many corners of Europe.

All buyers, including commodity buyers buy on the basis of credibilty of the accreditation on the item. No accreditation, no sale. Wise up to that.

You have 2 choices when it comes to accreditation, either your own (in this case Origin Green) or the buyer will do it.

The 3 card tricks you diss at are the reason your product leaves the Island.

If you churn butter in summer months its easy to understand the cows are out on pasture. However for beef, the product is made for the lifetime of animal, winter and summer so its difficult to see how the grass fed thing can be ensured. The description has a few get out clauses it acknowledges that upto 10% of feed can be maize or other feeds. Also the winter period is 145 days +40 in difficult weather conditions. Also doing a lot of heavy lifting is assuming that silage is 100% grass crop. The benefit of true grass fed or hay fed is that the animal can discriminate good grass from poor quality weeds or ensiled foreign material. The precision chop silage doesnt allow this distinction, so hence an attempt to have good grazing for the animal to be content ends up not being possible as there is inclusion of no so palatable materials.

Grass fed is replaced in Germany with a much more comprehensive hay&grass fed mark (heumilch) no silage! There as animals most be fed on grass or dried hay, the intake is much more possible to for animal to only consume healthy grass and secondly it immediately eliminates the possibility of maize.. I think the irish designation is lower value and too open to abuse and the type of smart consumer who is willing to pay for it will be hoodwinked.

I know we drink the milk at home when the cows go to grass, but not when housed.. I find there's a taste off it when silage in the diet.. but I'm probably just a fussy eater.

Looking for milk "up north" now.

We've gone from "oh this is great everyone is getting into cows" to " there's too many cows in the country. We need an exit scheme" to "oh sh1t. Phuck we are back 20% on milk supply. What do we do now?"

How much is weather related, and how much regulations and costs.

Has supply peaked for ireland.

well peaked ….regulation …red tape lack of reliable labour /lack of successor …bullshit 😀and lads just fed up ….there’s easier ways of making money now if a lad wants and every parish still has a hungry hole willing to blow everyone out of it to lease a bit of land …..block of land near me made 570/acre recently taken by dairy farmer who dose a lot of z grazing

Indeed - and its still been pushed for some bizarre reason🙄

https://www.independent.ie/farming/news/exciting-work-exchange-scheme-announced-for-young-dairy-farmers-from-new-zealand-and-ireland/a1075618041.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3xeY_q_bszdVD-gEqKhidxmIPJeq_jnBYWMRRSTrQiJRZA3NPSQbhRYMM_aem_AfomdxKfsFSTbRoWum97HTZjF_88l672DKdu6AuaWPov7uOk2Esx1dTkfb-iCRps4cqqHcREF1YZvlTI9g06uYsv

Jesus christ that's mental money I don't care what they think therecapable of knocking out of it.